The Sterile Cuckoo (novel)
The Sterile Cuckoo, is the 1965 novel by John Nichols. It tells the story of a quirky young couple--eccentric, imaginative Pookie Adams and conventional, unimaginative Jerry Payne--whose relationship deepens despite their differences, but evenually falls apart. It is largely set at an eastern college in the early Sixties.
 First edition cover | |
| Author | John Nichols |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Vivian Berger |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy novel |
| Publisher | David McKay Co. (US) & Heinemann (UK) |
Publication date | 1965 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 210 (hardback first edition) |
The title comes from a nonsense poem that Pookie writes near the end of the novel, after she and Jerry have made a suicide pact:
Oh, Hi-ho in the Lavender Woods / A Sterile Cuckoo is crying;
Oh, Hi-ho in the Lavender Woods / A Sterile Cuckoo is dying;
Cuckoo! Cuckoo! / Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
In the real dark night of the soul it’s always three o’clock in the morning. (F. S. Fitz[gerald] – P. Adams)[1]
A 1969 film version of the novel was adapted by Alvin Sargent and directed by Alan J. Pakula. It starred Liza Minnelli and Wendell Burton.[2]
References
- Pan edition (London, 1967), p. 146.
- Canby, Vincent (October 23, 1969). "The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) Screen: 'The Sterile Cuckoo,' Old-Style TV Drama". The New York Times.